Aron Lepp (b. 4 March 1827, d. 22 September 1913) was an elder of the Mennonite Brethren at Einlage, South Russia. He had been baptized by immersion on 22 April 1862. In consequence he was accused of being an "Anabaptist" by the Fürsorgkomitee in Odessa, and was dismissed from his office of civil and economic supervision of the Jewish settlement (see Judenplan, ML II, 439 f.). In 1866 he was put in charge of Andreasfeld, a subsidiary congregation, by the Baptist preacher August Liebig; at a conference in 1868 he was chosen to the ministry, and on 18 October 1869, ordained by the Baptist Elder Oncken of Hamburg. Although Lepp had received a Baptist ordination, he was reordained by the Mennonite Elder Janz of Friedrichsfeld, when he was chosen to fill the place of Elder A. Unger in 1876. Lepp was a determined opponent of the union of the Mennonite Brethren with the Baptists. He argued that the Mennonites would jeopardize their rights, and that the confessions of faith were too divergent. It is therefore largely due to his influence that the Mennonite Brethren did not merge with the Baptists. Lepp served in the office of elder until an advanced age. In 1903 he retired.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 327. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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